CN103365667B - A kind of method and apparatus of the installation operation system in host computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a method and system for installing an operating system in a host system. The method includes: receiving user parameters required in the operating system installation process in a pre-installation environment, and generating an unattended installation package; Transmitting to the baseboard management controller BMC; sending a command to the BMC, which instructs the BMC to mount the unattended installation package as a virtual USB device; and in response to receiving the BMC response, installing the operating system in the host system, wherein the During the installation process, an unattended installation package is obtained from the BMC virtual USB device, thereby obtaining user parameters required during the installation process. The method and system enable the unattended installation of the operating system without requiring any external storage or network devices, thereby reducing resource requirements for host system deployment.

Description

A method and device for installing an operating system in a host system

technical field

The present invention relates to the installation of an operating system, and more particularly, to a method and device for installing an operating system in a host system.

Background technique

In the host system, the installation process of the operating system (OS) is a time-consuming process, and the usual installation process is: the user boots from the OS image to enter the OS installation process. During the OS installation process, the installation program will require the user to input necessary user parameters through the human-computer interface, such as disk formatting policy, time zone setting, language selection, and so on. For some hardware environments, the OS installation program requires the user to install specific drivers, such as RAID drivers. Generally, a complete OS installation process takes about 30 minutes to one and a half hours, during which the user needs to wait in front of the machine to answer questions about the OS installation program.

Because the above process is time-consuming and labor-intensive, the unattended installation method of OS has been developed. In the unattended installation method of OS, after the user starts the installation process of the OS from the OS image, he can leave the machine and wait. The OS is installed, and the entire OS installation process does not require user intervention. For unattended installation, various user parameters, drivers and/or applications, etc. required by the OS installer can be provided through an answer file.

The current OS unattended installation method needs to use an external storage device to store an "unattended answer file" and a driver. This solution generally uses an additional external storage (usually a storage medium such as a USB storage medium, a mobile hard disk, or a floppy floppy disk) to store the answer file and the missing hardware driver on the OS installation CD. The disadvantage of this technical solution is that when multiple servers are deployed at the same time, the user has to prepare the same number of external storage devices as the deployed servers, or activate network devices.

Contents of the invention

Based on the above-mentioned defects in the prior art, there is a need for an OS unattended installation method and system, which do not require any external storage or network devices, thereby reducing resource requirements for host system deployment.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for installing an operating system in a host system is provided, comprising:

In the pre-installation environment, receive the user parameters required during the installation of the operating system, and generate an unattended installation package;

Transfer the unattended installation package to the baseboard management controller BMC;

Send a command to the BMC, which instructs the BMC to mount the unattended installation package as a virtual USB device; and

In response to receiving the BMC response, the operating system is installed in the host system, wherein during the installation process, an unattended installation package is obtained from the BMC virtual USB device, so as to obtain user parameters required during the installation process.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a system for installing an operating system in a host system is provided, including:

The receiving module is configured to receive user parameters required in the operating system installation process in the pre-installation environment, and generate an unattended installation package;

a transmission module configured to transmit the unattended installation package to the baseboard management controller BMC;

The command module is configured to send a command to the BMC, which instructs the BMC to mount the unattended installation package as a virtual USB device; and

The installation module is configured to install the operating system in the host system in response to receiving the BMC response, wherein during the installation process, the unattended installation package is obtained from the BMC virtual USB device, thereby obtaining the required during the installation process User parameters.

Description of drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent by describing the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein, in the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the same reference numerals generally represent same parts.

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary computing system 100 suitable for use in implementing embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows the interface between the BMC and the host;

Fig. 3 shows the flow of a method for installing an operating system in a host system according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 4 shows a structural block diagram of a system for installing an operating system in a host system.

detailed description

Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary computing system 100 suitable for use in implementing embodiments of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, computer system 100 can comprise: CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, RAM (Random Access Memory) 102, ROM (Read Only Memory) 103, system bus 104, hard disk controller 105, keyboard controller 106 , serial interface controller 107, parallel interface controller 108, display controller 109, hard disk 110, keyboard 111, serial peripheral 112, parallel peripheral 113 and display 114. Among these devices, coupled to the system bus 104 are a CPU 101 , a RAM 102 , a ROM 103 , a hard disk controller 105 , a keyboard controller 106 , a serial controller 107 , a parallel controller 108 and a display controller 109 . Hard disk 110 is coupled with hard disk controller 105, keyboard 111 is coupled with keyboard controller 106, serial peripheral device 112 is coupled with serial interface controller 107, parallel peripheral device 113 is coupled with parallel interface controller 108, and display 114 is coupled with display control Device 109 is coupled. It should be understood that the structural block diagram shown in FIG. 1 is only for the purpose of illustration, rather than limiting the scope of the present invention. In some cases, some equipment can be increased or decreased on a case-by-case basis

Those skilled in the art know that the present invention can be implemented as a system, method or computer program product. Therefore, the present disclosure can be specifically implemented in the following forms, that is: it can be complete hardware, it can also be complete software (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), and it can also be a combination of hardware and software. Called a "circuit", "module" or "system". Furthermore, in some embodiments, the present invention can also be implemented in the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-readable media having computer-readable program code embodied therein.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of computer readable storage media include: electrical connections with one or more leads, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), Erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage device, magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a data signal carrying computer readable program code in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such propagated data signals may take many forms, including - but not limited to - electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer-readable signal medium may also be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, which can send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. .

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including - but not limited to - wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out the operations of the present invention may be written in one or more programming languages, or combinations thereof, including object-oriented programming languages—such as Java, Smalltalk, C++, including conventional Procedural programming language - such as "C" or similar programming language. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In cases involving a remote computer, the remote computer can be connected to the user computer through any kind of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or it can be connected to an external computer (such as through an Internet service provider). Internet connection).

The present invention is described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, and these computer program instructions are executed by the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a flow diagram of the implementation and/or means for the functions/operations specified in the blocks in the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can cause a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium can generate a program including implementation flowcharts and and/or the manufacture of instruction means (instruction means) for the functions/operations specified in the blocks in the block diagram.

It is also possible to load computer program instructions onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other equipment, so that a series of operational steps are performed on the computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby Instructions that enable execution on a computer or other programmable device provide a process for implementing the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or blocks in the block diagrams.

In the host system, the unattended installation process of the existing operating system can be divided into two parts. The first part is the preparation process before installation, including starting from the pre-installation environment, configuring hardware, upgrading firmware, and upgrading the existing installation Hardware with an unattended installation package connected to the host system. The second part is the installation process, which starts from the OS image and enters the OS installation process until the operating system is installed. The first part takes a short time, and the real unattended happens in the second part because it takes a long time.

In a host system, there is a system-on-a-chip - Baseboard Management Controller (BMC for short). BMC can be used to provide intelligence for intelligent platform management, control the interface between the management software of the system and the platform management hardware, and provide autonomous Monitoring, event logging, and recovery control functions, and serves as a gateway between systems management software and the Intelligent Platform Management Bus (IPMB) and Intelligent Chassis Management Bus (ICMB) interfaces. BMC has its own power supply and automatically monitors the health of the system. If it finds any abnormality in the controlled unit, it can take immediate action, such as logging the event, alarm, automatic shutdown or restart. Associated with the BMC is a set of passive memory used to store sensor data (Sensor Data Records, SDR), system event record files, and some unit information such as serial number and part number information. IPMI achieves the separation of software and hardware information by specifying a common, streamlined, message-based interface to transfer information to the management microcontroller.

Figure 2 shows the interface between the BMC and the host. There are three interfaces between the BMC and the host. The first is the file transfer service interface (File server interface), and the second is the BMC's virtual USB interface. , the third interface is the control command interface (Control Command). The file transfer service interface uses the TFTP/FTP communication protocol for uploading and downloading files; the BMC virtual USB interface can create a virtual USB device that can be accessed by the host; the control command interface can be IPMI, CIM or any other type The interface is used to request the BMC to perform certain operations.

The above-mentioned BMC interface allows the operating system installation to use the BMC on the existing host to create a USB, so that the unattended installation process of the operating system does not require any external storage or network devices, thereby reducing the resources for product development and maintenance need.

Fig. 3 shows the flow of a method for installing an operating system in a host system according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to Fig. 3, in step S301, receive the user parameter needed in the OS installation process under the pre-installation environment, generate unattended installation package; In step S302, unattended installation package is transmitted to BMC; In step S303, to BMC Send a command, which instructs the BMC to mount the unattended installation package as a virtual USB device; in step S304, in response to receiving the BMC response, the operating system is installed in the host system, wherein in the installation process, from the BMC virtual The unattended installation package is obtained from the USB device of the device, so as to obtain the user parameters required in the installation process.

The pre-installation environment refers to an environment that can run on the target deployment system and is used to configure hardware and call the installer to install the operating system. The pre-installation environment is generally started by CD, PXE, USB or the self-starting image on the hard disk. Any pre-installation environment can be used in the present invention, such as windows PE or linux, etc., and does not require compatibility with the installed operating system. In the pre-installation environment, users can pre-input various parameters required during the OS installation process, such as disk formatting policies, time zone settings, and language selection. Users can also configure the hardware environment, such as updating firmware, configuring RAID array, configuring Fiber Channel, etc. These parameters are organized into answer files during OS installation in the pre-installation environment. At the same time, the user can also designate the device driver and/or application program installation files that need to be automatically installed after the OS installation is completed. In the present invention, in the pre-installation environment, the answer file formed by the user's input and the specified installation file can be used to generate an unattended installation package, that is, the unattended installation package includes the answer file in the OS installation process, preferably Optionally, device drivers and/or application installation files, etc. are also included.

The format of the answer file in the OS installation process comes from the standard defined by each operating system, and is often a readable text file. The content of the file includes all the information that the user needs to input during the installation process, and may also include the path of the driver file of the device that needs to be driven, which is used to implant the driver. A partial excerpt of the answer file is provided here, describing information for the time zone and language selected by the installer.

In step S302, the transmission of the unattended installation package to the BMC may be directly performed using the file transmission service interface between the BMC and the host.

In step S303, a command is sent to the BMC, which instructs the BMC to mount the unattended installation package as a virtual USB device. This step can use the control command interface between the BMC and the host. After the BMC receives the command, it will Generate a virtual USB device in the BMC storage area, and mount the unattended installation package transferred to the BMC on the virtual USB device.

Then, the BMC will send back a response message through the control command interface between the BMC and the host, confirming that a virtual USB device is generated in the BMC storage area. In step S304, in response to receiving the BMC response, the operating system is installed in the host system, wherein during the installation process, the unattended installation package is obtained from the BMC virtual USB device through the BMC virtual USB interface between the BMC and the host, In order to obtain the user parameters required in the installation process.

For different hardware devices, the virtual USB will occupy the storage space of the BMC, ranging from dozens to hundreds of MB. Precious, it stores many functional modules of the system management, and the released space can be continued to be used by other functional blocks. Therefore, in one embodiment, the answer file of the unattended installation package can include a program group that will be executed during the first operating system startup process, and the program group includes an instruction file that requires the BMC to remove Virtual USB device and delete the unattended installation package. This instruction file can be a script file, or a file similar to a batch file, so that the instruction file will be executed during the first startup of the OS after the installation is completed. Then the method shown in Figure 3 also includes step S305, in response to the installation of the operating system, start the operating system for the first time, the operating system executes the instruction file, and sends a command to the BMC, which instructs the BMC to unload the virtual USB device and delete the virtual USB device. Human-attended installation package. Since the pre-installation process is over, the operating system is started for the first time, and the control over the BMC has been transferred to the operating system. Therefore, the operating system sends a command to the BMC to instruct the BMC to uninstall the virtual USB device. In addition, the answer file includes the program group that will be executed during the first operating system startup process, and may also include the path where the device driver and/or application program are located, so that these device drivers and applications can be installed directly after the operating system is installed. / or application.

In another embodiment, in step S304 of the method shown in FIG. 3 , in response to receiving the BMC response, an operating system is installed in the host system, wherein, after receiving the BMC response, before installing the operating system in the host system, a Reboot the host. In some specific cases, such as installing Windows OS based on the WinPE pre-installation environment, it is not necessary to restart the host. But in other cases, on the one hand, the host needs to be restarted to detect the hardware, and on the other hand, it is necessary to start the host through the OS CD or OS image to start the installation process. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the host needs to be restarted.

Through the above method, the user can enter the necessary parameters and information while running the pre-installation environment, and after the OS image is started, the OS unattended installation is performed. During this period, no external equipment is required, and the user is not required to wait in front of the machine to answer the questions of the OS installer.

Under the same inventive concept, the present invention also discloses a system for installing an operating system in a host system. FIG. 4 shows a structural block diagram of a system 400 for installing an operating system in a host system. According to FIG. 4 , the system 400 Including: receiving module 401, configured to receive user parameters required in the operating system installation process in the pre-installation environment, and generate unattended installation package; transmission module 402, configured to transmit unattended installation package to BMC; command Module 403 is configured to send a command to the BMC, which instructs the BMC to mount the unattended installation package as a virtual USB device; and the installation module 404 is configured to install in the host system in response to receiving the BMC response. The operating system, wherein during the installation process, the unattended installation package is obtained from the BMC virtual USB device, so as to obtain the user parameters required in the installation process.

In one embodiment, the unattended installation package includes an answer file during the OS installation process, and the answer file includes user parameters input in the pre-installation environment and required during the installation process of the operating system. In a preferred implementation manner, the unattended installation package further includes device driver and/or application program installation files. In a preferred embodiment, the answer file of the unattended installation package also includes a program group that will be executed during the first operating system startup process, which includes requiring the BMC to remove the virtual USB device and Delete the directive file for the unattended installation package. In a further embodiment, the system also includes: an uninstall module configured to respond to the installation of the operating system, start the operating system for the first time, the operating system executes the instruction file, and sends a command to the BMC, which instructs the BMC to unload the virtual The USB device unmounts and removes the unattended installation package.

In one embodiment, the installation module further includes a restart module configured to restart the host before the operating system is installed in the host system after the installation module receives the BMC response.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in a flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, program segment, or part of code that includes one or more Executable instructions. It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or they may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It should also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified functions or operations , or may be implemented by a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

Having described various embodiments of the present invention, the foregoing description is exemplary, not exhaustive, and is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and alterations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein is chosen to best explain the principles of the various embodiments, practical applications or technical improvements over technologies in the market, or to enable other persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand the various embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims (6)

1. A method for installing an operating system in a host system, comprising: Receive the user parameters needed in the operating system installation process in the pre-installation environment, and generate an unattended installation package, wherein the unattended installation package includes an answer file in the operating system installation process, and the answer file is included in the pre-installation environment The user parameters required during the installation process of the operating system entered under , and the answer file of the unattended installation package also includes a program group that will be executed during the first operating system startup process, and the program group includes Ask BMC to remove the virtual USB device and delete the instruction file of the unattended installation package; Transfer the unattended installation package to the baseboard management controller BMC; Send a command to the BMC, which instructs the BMC to mount the unattended installation package as a virtual USB device; and In response to receiving the BMC answer, install the operating system in the host system, wherein during the installation process, obtain the unattended installation package from the BMC virtual USB device, thereby obtaining the user parameters required in the installation process, wherein After the operating system is installed, release the storage space occupied by the virtual USB, and The method further includes: in response to the installation of the operating system, starting the operating system for the first time, the operating system executes the instruction file, and sends a command to the BMC, and the command instructs the BMC to uninstall the virtual USB device and delete the unattended installation package. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the unattended installation package further includes device driver and/or application program installation files. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of installing the operating system in the host system in response to receiving the BMC answer, further comprising reinstalling the operating system in the host system after receiving the BMC answer. Start the host. 4. A system for installing an operating system in a host system, comprising: The receiving module is configured to receive user parameters required during the operating system installation process in the pre-installation environment, and generate an unattended installation package, wherein the unattended installation package includes an answer file during the operating system installation process, and the answer The file includes the user parameters required during the installation process of the operating system entered in the pre-installation environment, and the answer file of the unattended installation package also includes the program group that will be executed during the first operating system startup process , this program group contains command files that require BMC to remove the virtual USB device and delete the unattended installation package; a transmission module configured to transmit the unattended installation package to the baseboard management controller BMC; The command module is configured to send a command to the BMC, which instructs the BMC to mount the unattended installation package as a virtual USB device; and The installation module is configured to install the operating system in the host system in response to receiving the BMC response, wherein during the installation process, the unattended installation package is obtained from the BMC virtual USB device, thereby obtaining the required during the installation process User parameters, where After the operating system is installed, release the storage space occupied by the virtual USB, and Wherein the system also includes: an unloading module configured to respond to the installation of the operating system, start the operating system for the first time, the operating system executes the instruction file, and sends a command to the BMC, which instructs the BMC to unload and delete the virtual USB device Unattended installation of packages. 5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the unattended installation package further includes device driver and/or application program installation files. 6. The system according to claim 4, wherein the installation module further comprises a restart module configured to restart the host after the installation module receives the BMC response and before the operating system is installed in the host system.